


you don't know me

by totallyunrelated



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:15:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25688671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyunrelated/pseuds/totallyunrelated
Summary: A look into Mai and Ty Lee's thoughts on Azula moments after their betrayal.
Relationships: Azula & Mai & Ty Lee, Azula & Mai (Avatar), Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	you don't know me

Neither Mai nor Ty Lee says a word as they’re led away from Azula, deep into the prison. Mai’s hands are bound behind her back and she’s out of knives, and although she’s facing certain doom she doesn’t feel anything except a strange emptiness. Beside her, Ty Lee stands straight, walking like she’s on a tightrope. She might as well be; Mai has the odd feeling that she’s going to fall at any minute, like she’ll wake up and this will all be just a strange dream that she can laugh about. (To herself, of course; even if it _was_ just a dream she could never tell anybody about it.)

The guards don’t shove them or jerk them around like she’s seen them do with any of the other prisoners. Instead, they seem unsure, mumbling apologies when Mai stumbles and glancing at each other awkwardly, as if confused. Mai supposes that it’s not every day that they see the princess’s childhood best friends betray her, and in such a spectacular fashion. If it were her, she would be morbidly curious too. 

Some part of her feels like she should be doubting herself right now, asking herself if she made the right decision, but for better or worse she’s devoid of doubt. She remembers opening Zuko’s letter, reading it, feeling the crushing weight of heartbreak and despair. Back then she’d been angry, so angry at him for leaving, for breaking her heart, and she’d also been angry at herself--why hadn’t she been enough to make him stay?--but when she’d seen him again in the prison cell, speaking with such passion, certain that what he had done was the right thing, it had made her start to question herself. Ask herself whether what _she_ was doing was the right thing. 

She knows that saving him was the right decision.

They remove their clothes without much fanfare, pulling on the standard red prison clothes. Mai almost scoffs at the colour. She has never liked red. Ty Lee’s eyes are wide and frightened as they’re escorted to a cell and pushed in; Mai feels a brief flicker of relief that at least they’re not being separated. The door clangs shut behind them and there’s the unmistakable sound of a key turning in a lock, and then they’re mercifully left alone. Mai rubs her sore wrists and looks around with a sigh. She hopes that Zuko and his new friends will win the war, she really does, but she’s already resigning herself to a lifetime spent in this cell.

“Why?” Mai asks finally, breaking the silence.

Ty Lee looks up from where she’s inspecting the cot with a startled look on her face. “Why what?”

Mai sighs again. “Why did you help me?”

Ty Lee has always been one of the only people who can look past the mask of disinterest she puts up for everyone. She sees Mai’s fear and anger and everything she tries to hide from the world.

“Because you’re my friend,” says Ty Lee in a way that implies it should be obvious.

“ _Azula_ is your friend.” She’s not trying to argue with Ty Lee, really she’s not; she just wants to understand. It was obvious that neither she nor Azula had seen Ty Lee’s betrayal coming: she always seemed so happy, so upbeat, so loving. 

Ty Lee’s face darkens. “No, she’s not,” she says. “Azula buys friendship through fear and threats. I doubt she even knows what real friendship, real love, real kindness looks like. You know it. I know it. But you, even though you act like you don’t care about anyone or anything, I know you do. You’re my best friend. You’ve always understood me.”

Mai’s own words echo through her head: _I guess you just don’t know people as well as you think you do._ That certainly was true in the case of Ty Lee. Even she had never known that Ty Lee saw Azula like that. She had always believed that despite all of Azula’s fearmongering and flaws, Ty Lee did see her as a friend. From a very young age Mai had been aware of where she stood with Azula, knew that their friendship was inherently broken in some way, but she’d seen Ty Lee with her open affection and carefree personality and believed that either she didn’t notice or didn’t care. She’d been wrong.

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” whispers Mai. Her throat suddenly feels thick. 

Ty Lee shakes her head. “That’s what friends do. I couldn’t watch her hurt you, or kill you. And besides…” She hesitates, looks at the door like she’s scared someone might be listening. “I’ve known for a long time that this war is wrong. It has to end. All along I didn’t know what to do about it, I thought I had no choice but to follow Azula, but you showed me that there was another choice. I made my choice, Mai. It’s not your fault.” She leaps off the bed, light on her feet like always, and envelops Mai in a fierce hug. And although Mai normally hates physical affection, even from Ty Lee, this time she leans into her friend, finding comfort in her strength. She finally allows herself to cry: for herself, for Ty Lee, for Zuko. 

Even, perhaps, for Azula. Azula, who Mai knows is not really an inherently evil person. She has lacked proper love and care from a very young age, only really being exposed to her father’s manipulations and lies. It was no wonder she grew to be the person she is now, trusting only in fear, never in love and loyalty. In some ways, though she has been hurt deeply by Azula, Mai feels sorry for her. She wishes that Azula, like Zuko, can someday find the goodness in her and start believing in love.

But Mai knows that their betrayal has hurt Azula, has made her even more distrustful and paranoid, if that is even possible. And a hurt Azula is a dangerous Azula.


End file.
